BCCI has approached ECB chief Giles Clarke in a bid to get a hike in the proposed ICC revenue model.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Giles Clarke has been a close confidant of Shashank Manohar.(Getty Images)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) administrators are trying every way to get the share of ICC revenue increased. It is learnt the BCCI bigwigs are in ‘regular’ touch with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Giles Clarke not just get a hike in the proposed revenue model but also review contentious issues in the governance model planned to be implemented.

On both issues, BCCI was outvoted at the ICC Board meeting in Dubai in late April.

The decision to approach Clarke seems to be a clear move to convince ICC chairman Shashank Manohar. Clarke, the ECB president, is a close confidant of Manohar. Clarke was also part of the ICC working group that recommended the new financial and governance models.

The ECB chief was one of the key figures to apparently convince Manohar to stay on as ICC chairman — first till the ICC Board meeting and now for his full term till June 2018. In March, Manohar decided to step down from the post citing “personal reasons”.

Sources have indicated that BCCI’s move to schedule the West Indies tour (5 ODIs, 1 T20) immediately after the ICC Champions Trophy is also a ploy as West Indies Cricket Board chief Dave Cameron is also close to Manohar.

BCCI bargaining hard

BCCI, along with England and Australia Boards were allotted the lion’s share of the revenue under the 2014 Big Three plan. However, the Indian Board’s share for the 2015-2023 period was substantially cut to $293 million under the new model. India opposed the plan but BCCI was outvoted 9:1 at the ICC Board in Dubai last month.

Manohar had made an additional $100 million offer to the BCCI, which will take India’s revenue to around $400 million. The BCCI wasn’t happy with the offer and rejected it. Though the offer is still valid, BCCI will bargain hard to get their share increased.

The BCCI has one last chance to push their point in the revenue and administrative issues when the new revenue models are formally adopted at the ICC’s Annual General Meeting in London in June.

The BCCI’s general body has given acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary full powers to negotiate the best deal with the ICC.